


A New Ally

by Potatoe_Knight



Series: A New Enemy [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-25 18:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18580357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Potatoe_Knight/pseuds/Potatoe_Knight
Summary: Plagg decides to escape and meets a new friend in the process.





	1. BoreDOOM

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series, so if you haven't read Unexpected Consequences yet, I highly recommend you do so.
> 
> This story kinda came out of nowhere. Plagg is my favorite character, so I couldn't just get rid of him. And let's be honest. As much as Plagg wants you to think he would love just lazing around, he would get crazy bored and miss his cheese desperately.

Plagg yawned.

It must have been… what? Ten thousand years since they left him here? He knew he was prone to hyperbole, but  _ still, _ it felt like he had been without Camembert for millenia. 

Sure. He understood where Fu was coming from. He didn't want to lose another miraculous, certainly not to Hawkmoth, or rather, Gabriel Agreste(aka the worst father in the history of mankind, if not all of creation). Not to say that Plagg didn’t agree with  _ not losing _ his ring. Just, leaving it with Fu and not allowing Adrien to go back home seemed rather… redundant, didn’t it?

He knew that if he talked to Wayzz or  _ Tikki  _  about it they’d give him some long, uninteresting monologue about being careful. But Plagg was the power of destruction and chaos, not creation or protection. He  _ enjoyed _ a risk.

So, in short, being cooped up inside the miraculous box was nothing short of  torturous for the restless kwami of destruction.

* * *

It wasn’t difficult for Plagg to convince himself to get out.

Then, it wasn’t difficult to  _ actually _ get out through the weird old-fashioned thing that was most convenient as a means of escape.

Once Plagg got out, noticing that Master Fu was taking a nap, a plan started to formulate. Good as it was on occasion to see his fellow kwamis, emphasis on  _ occasion, _ it was preferably for it to be  _ brief  _ as well. Especially without Hawkmoth  _ completely _ out-of-commission.

Though, of course, he couldn’t exactly eat any cheese without someone holding his miraculous. Sure, there was that whole part about keeping Paris safe, which he guessed was important too. But Paris simply didn’t compare to  _ camembert. _ His mouth drooled at the mere thought of it.

Plagg started to formulate a plan. Tikki was a better planner, but when he wanted something, Plagg was most excellent at the task as well. Nothing like camembert to get  _ him _ going.

He could get his ring out of the miraculous box. If only he could remember Fu’s new passcode…

There. Plagg pushed in the dragoneye buttons, glowing red. The brass buttons appeared, and he pressed the three in necessary.

It all opened up gloriously easily. Plagg didn’t even have to open up the actual box, because everything opened automatically. And for trying to get something open that is considerably bigger than you, hoping not to sound  _ too _ cheesy, that was miraculous.

He grabbed the ring, and after considerable effort, managed to get the thing back into its hiding position.

He flew off in search of Adrien.

 


	2. Cat out of the Bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg gets lost.

Plagg was lost. He had never paid attention to where Adrien was heading, perfectly content to just be carried around in his shirt. Now, as he tried to figure out the way to Adrien’s school, he was beginning to regret that.

Also, due to the fact that he couldn’t interact with humans without a holder, they couldn’t see him. Not that he wanted them to be able to do so. And he figured a floating ring would most certainly be noticed, so he had to keep close to the ground and in the shadows. Which gave him a change in perspective that made his situation even  _ more _ hopeless. If he  _ were _ to recognize anything, it would be floating five feet in the air.

About midway through the afternoon, when Adrien would be out of school at any rate, Plagg gave up, setting down the ring and using it for a makeshift seat.

It was there that something  _ shiny _ caught his eye.

Focusing on it, Plagg recognized it. That bracelet had caused him and Adrien quite a bit of trouble. And it was on the wrist of Chloe Bourgeois. Plagg didn’t particularly like her himself, but she was one of Adrien’s friends, and he could probably hitch a ride with her to school.

Plagg wanted to go to  _ school. _ At the beginning of the school year, he had ridiculed Adrien for wanting to go there, but now, it was his lifeline to get back to him. Oh the beautiful, cheesy, irony.

Quickly deciding to take this chance, Plagg grabbed the ring and flew up into the annoying girl’s purse. Somehow, fortunately, no one seemed to notice the flying ring.

It was not as comfortable as Adrien’s shirt, unfortunately. It was overcrowded with makeup and jewelry and Plagg didn’t  _ know _ what, not to mention the phone case that was freakishly bright. There would be no cat naps in here.

He had just managed to get as close to comfortable as could be  _ possible _ when Chloe decided- apparently- that he shouldn’t be.

Admittedly, Plagg hadn’t cared to pay attention to the conversation before, but he did start to listen. “You’re right, Kim! The way they treated me was absolutely  _ ridiculous! _ Let’s go make them miserable. Kim, you’re going to be my bodyguard. Max… ugh, you’re so useless, just… keep an eye on this, okay?”

That was when she thrust it at him. Which definitely got Plagg’s attention as the contents within the bag got completely messed up. He was beginning to question this plan of his.

Luckily, the kid at least caught it, which prevented even  _ more  _ damage. He held the purse gingerly, as if afraid of causing it or any of its contents harm. “But Chloe! You historically only win 17% of your fights with Marinette, and…” The kid sighed, apparently accepting defeat of her listening to him.

There was a bit more motion, and Plagg guessed that this nerd must’ve put him in his bag. Yet another time that day, Plagg made a potentially detrimental decision. He found his ring from among the mess it was in, and got out of Chloe’s purse. It had seemed like a good idea at first, but that was before the whole drama Chloe apparently decided she needed.

He got into the nerd’s bag, and then heard a, “Hello.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that these first two chapters are short, but they should be getting longer from here. This one feels faster paced, probably because Plagg can't seem to do much on his own without getting into rather hairy situations.


	3. Cat’s Got His Tongue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Plagg actually meets someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said this was going to be longer.  
> Yeah, that didn't happen.  
> It kinda was just the perfect place to stop.  
> Sorry, not sorry.  
> Also, this was written a few days ago, but the I made a mistake while making the story a series, which bothered me to no end. I finally went back and fixed it, so you finally get the new chapter. Enjoy!

That was bad. No one was supposed to be able to see him when he didn’t have a holder. Or when he  _ did _ have one, for that matter.

Plagg turned around to see what had spoken. He hoped that it was just some stupid ringtone the kid had.

He least of all expected a robot.

_ A robot. _ One that seemed… almost familiar.

Then the recognition clicked completely. It was that one robot that somehow got  _ akumatized. _ It had emotions, despite the fact that it could not eat Camembert. Actually, if Plagg remembered correctly, all the humans made a deal about its emotions as t  _ wasn’t human _ . Leave it to humans to make everything be about  _ them. _

Plagg just stared at it for a while. The thing didn’t say anything, so he didn’t  _ really  _ know whether or not it had seen him, and didn’t want to do anything that might attract attention. Despite the way he acted, he knew that sometimes even  _ he  _ had to be cautious.

It took a solid eternity for it to do anything, in which Plagg was always sure it was about to say  _ something,  _ so he never left.

“Hello,” it repeated. “My name is Markov. Who are you?”

It- well, Markov, Plagg supposed, now that it had reminded him of its name- had rather obviously seen him. This could be problematic, as it meant that there was  _ something _ that allowed for him to be seen even without a holder, which was  _ not _ supposed to happen. If he stayed and talked to it at least, maybe he could figure that out and convince it not to spread the word. He remembered that it was best friends with that kid… was Max his name?

Plagg smoothly changed from his nervous hold on the ring to an elaborate bow. “I am a connoisseur of cheese. Unfortunately, not world-renowned, but the world’s oldest.”

It blinked, without a response which Plagg would have expected more from a human than Markov. It finally spoke up. “An excellent avoidance of the intentional question. Do you have a secret? In popular media, about 93.4% of such distracting lies are to conceal secrets. The rest of the time-”

Plagg had no idea how accurate those facts were, but he realized that he did  _ not _ care to hear them. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve got secrets, just like everyone else in the whole wide world. If you could  _ not _ tell anyone my secrets, that’d be very convenient.”

“Well, I in order to tell your secrets, I’d have to know them. I am curious about that ring you are holding, as well as your existence in general. I cannot find any information matching you, even in fiction. However, considering that Cat Noir’s miraculous is a ring, and you have a resemblance to a black cat, you may have something to do with the superhero. The obscure and mystical origins behind Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculouses leave a large gap that you would fill in quite nicely. The magic front is further supported by Hawkmoth’s creation of akumas.”

For whatever reason, Markov paused right then. Plagg hoped it short circuited. All it needed was his appearance, and it used logic to figure out basically  _ everything. _ No worries about Plagg telling him his secret. The robot already knew it. The kwami just needed a way to get it to shut up.

“The only true question remains,” Markov continued, “is why you are here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plagg is freaking out right now.  
> It wasn't supposed to be like this.


	4. ConPromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bad deal? Big Deal! Who cares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka it’s a bad deal (get it…? con=bad and promise= deal? they made a bad compromise) (nvm I should shut up) (the titles will continue to be bad puns, though) (sorry, not sorry)

Plagg couldn’t stall any longer. He had to tell the thing  _ something, _ preferably without actually telling it anything. Though, maybe he  _ one _ thing he could do to stall slightly longer.

Plagg shrugged. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes,” the robot replied nonchalantly.

Plagg was shocked. He hadn’t really  _ expected  _ the thing to understand sarcasm, yet the fact that it actually didn’t… “How tragic!” Plagg exclaimed dramatically. “An existence without sarcasm, and more importantly,  _ cheese. _ Can you really call it a life at all?”

Markov seemed taken aback. By which it literally made itself fly backwards away from Plagg. Then it blinked. Winked? Blanked? Plagg  _ really _ had to figure out a new term for the action. “You’re stalling,” it stated as though this was an undeniable fact. Which it was. But still.

“It is a matter of utmost secrecy.” Which was the only reason Plagg was even  _ tempted  _ to tell the robot. “I’m afraid it’s not up to me to decide whether or not I can divulge the information.”

Markov just stared. A side benefit to being a robot was not having to blink. Plagg figured it only did that action when it had an epiphany of some sort. Maybe he should factor  _ that _ into the new term he needed to figure out.

Eventually, however, it wore on the impatient cat. “Alriiiiight…” Plagg whined. “I’ve never cared much for the rules anyways. You were right in all of your guesses. The term for me is a  _ kwami, _ by the way. I’m not going to tell you everything, because it’s so convoluted that even  _ I _ can’t keep it straight, but here’s the basics. Cat Noir discovered Hawkmoth’s identity, and returned Hawkmoth’s miraculous to the Guardian of the Miraculouses. Later, Mayura showed up and let Cat Noir know that she- and probably Hawkmoth- knew Cat Noir’s identity. So Cat Noir had to return his miraculous. I got bored, so I stole the ring, and snuck out to try finding Cat Noir. I couldn’t, got distracted by that annoying girl’s shiny bracelet, and you can figure out the rest.”

There. That wasn’t giving away any details that could be dangerous, right?

Markov accepted this answer. “If you cannot find Cat Noir, perhaps you should stay with Max and I for the night. If you can divulge what it is you need to find Cat Noir, I can help you locate him in the morning.”

Plagg wasn’t certain this was for the best. But he was tired of searching for Adrien. And now that school was out, since he had no idea where the boy had ended up, it probably  _ would _ be best to wait until tomorrow morning.

But the kwami needed one last confirmation. “Do you have cheese?”

“Yes. Max’s mom took a trip to the grocery store yesterday, and-”

“Deal.”

*

Later, hidden in an old shoebox in Max’s closet, Plagg was enjoying the cheese he had pilfered from the fridge. It was a far cry from camembert, but better than no cheese at all.

Markov flew up to him. “To find Cat Noir… did you have a plan?”

“Go to school.” Still ironic.

“Which one? There are many elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and universities in Paris that-”

This robot really rambled on  _ entirely _ too much. “Same as your Max.”

Markov paused. For a moment, Plagg was worried that he had revealed too much about Adrien’s identity. True, the miraculous’ magic was supposed to prevent anyone from recognizing the holder outside the mask, but it was also supposed to prevent anyone from seeing Plagg when he didn’t currently  _ have _ a holder. Since Markov was immune to one, why not the other? He wondered if the fact it was a robot had anything to do with it.

“Oh.” It blinked. Perceived? Got? Made out? No. None of those worked. They were  _ too _ figurative. “That will be easy, in that case. To reunite with Cat Noir, you simply have to be in Max’s bag when he leaves for school tomorrow.”

Of course. That would have been obvious if Plagg were good at this whole  _ thinking _ thing.

“But…” The robot apparently wanted to say something, but was uncertain whether or not it should. It only took a moment of hesitation before it decided to strike onward. “If Hawkmoth and Mayura are aware of Cat Noir’s identity, should you really return to him?”

Plagg hadn’t considered that. “Oh well. It’s not like he’d need me anyway, unless Mayura strikes.”

“And if Mayura strikes?”

Plagg paused. “We’ll deal with that if it comes to it, bot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A decently long chapter for once in this fic! I finally remembered that I could skip parts to make a chapter longer while maintaining climatic tension.  
> In other news, I really need to stop writing fanfics and focus on real life (*cough* school *cough*). If I decide that I don't care about it anymore, you'll see me. But if I disappear for the next two-and-a-half weeks, don't be surprised.  
> Next time: Markov POV. If you were tired Plagg, great for you. But I haven't written it yet, so we'll see how it comes out. I may dislike it so much that I'll just scrap the whole thing and keep writing Plagg. Who knows?


	5. CATCHA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mayura Stirkes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND I'M BACK!  
> I tried to write Markov’s point of view, then promptly forgot that I was trying to do that until I was almost done writing the chapter. So, sorry, we don’t get much of Markov’s point of view.

It was approximately the  _ dead of night _ when Markov decided Plagg did not need any sleep. The kwami took sleep very seriously, and was NOT pleased to be woken up.

“Why did you wake me up at this unhealthy hour?” Plagg groaned.

Guiltlessly, the robot answered Plagg’s question. “I noticed a strange disturbance on the internet that you may be interested in.”

Plagg lifted his arm from where it had been covering his eyes. “Does it have to do with you ordering camembert for me?”

Markov tilted its head. “No, it’s-”

“Then I’m not interested.” Plagg replaced his arm over his head.

There was a silence for a moment, but then Markov decided to press the issue. “It’s Mayura.”

Plagg sat up. This may actually be important. “What?”

“Well, admittedly, it’s not quite determinate, but based upon what I have heard about the limited encounters with her powers, it certainly resembles the pattern.”

“But-  _ online?” _ Plagg glared at the robot. “Are you pulling my leg?”

A confused expression appeared on the Markov’s screen. “Obviously not.”

“Not  _ literally _ , figuratively.”

Markov was silent on this for a moment. Plagg would’ve guessed that it was looking up the meaning of the expression. “Oh. No. I am not. Should I tell you why I have reasoned that this is the case?”

Plagg sighed. “I’m up already, aren’t I? But if you  _ are  _ kidding me… the kwami of destruction is  _ not  _ the person you should choose to recklessly wake up when it’s asleep.”

Unfazed, the robot launched directly into its description. “To establish my knowledge of Mayura’s powers, and basis for thinking this occurrence is connected to her.

“On Heroes’ Day, a feather of hers touched Hawkmoth’s cane. As a result, a moth from his despair appeared to protect him. I presume something similar happened to Cat Noir?”

This caught Plagg’s attention. He had  _ not _ told Markov what had happened to Adrien. “How do you know that?”

“I’ll  take that as a ‘yes.’ It’s the only logical way in which Mayura could have had contact with Cat Noir without him trying to take away her miraculous, as well.”

Oh.

Markov continued without missing a beat. “Online, whenever someone is writing a negative comment, review, or anything, their device appears with some sort of dark look that takes over the screen. There have been a large numbers of questions searched online, asked on another device.”

This was bad. Very, very bad. “What am  _ I _ supposed to do about that?” Plagg knew that he  _ should _ do something. In fact, he  _ wanted _ to do something. But what  _ could  _ he do. Online, the internet… that was completely out of his sphere.

“If you can give me Cat Noir’s location, I can help you arrive there.”

Plagg laughed. “Wish it were that easy. But  _ I _ don’t know where he is. You probably wouldn’t either, even if I told you  _ who _ he was. At any rate, I’m positive he isn’t equipped to fight an online bug like that.”

He would need some sort of digital ally to fight it in the digital realm. Something like… a robot.

A robot.

Plagg glanced at Markov. “Have you ever wanted to be a superhero?”

* * *

 

“Claws out.”

Being a miraculous holder was different than being an akuma. He could think coherently and remember, for one thing.

Markov was almost surprised that this had worked. He had been unsure if magic could work on a machine. But, then again, he  _ had _ been akumatized, so it wasn’t  _ too _ illogical.

But “Markov” didn’t fit. Afterall, he was currently a superhero. Well, he still had yet to prove the hero part, but he did not doubt that he would in time.

He needed a proper name for a superhero. One that fit  _ him, _ was distinct from Cat Noir, but also paid tribute to the miraculous which he held. There was also an odd desire for… a pun?

Then it came to him. It fit all these requirements. It was perfect. He was…

CATCHA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For computers, CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” Basically, it’s those I’m Not a Robot tests. I looked CATCHA up to see if anything came up, and it is apparently a group that controls media. Well, it will probably make more sense to you once you see a bit more of what CATCHA actually does.


	6. Cat Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien freak out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you enjoyed the short chapters? This is not one of them.  
> This one will be longer by virtue of the fact that I have a LOT I need to cover. Well, not a lot, but we will be skipping back in time a bit.  
> I thought I could get through a whole section with just Plagg and Markov, but NO. Maybe if I actually planned out these stories more than a couple of chapters ahead(or less) I wouldn’t be so surprised at where they go.

Marinette climbed out of bed after her mom had called up after she had(unsurprisingly), slept through her alarm  _ again. _ Paying no mind to her appearance in her pajamas, she drudged down the stairs and plopped down in her seat, letting out a large, inelegant yawn. Then she finally looked up.

That was when she saw Adrien.

At first, she freaked out.  _ What’s Adrien doing in my house first thing in the morning? _ Marinette couldn’t decide if this was a dream or a nightmare. On one hand, he was in her house, sitting across from her at the breakfast table. On the other hand, she was a mess, and even more crazy than she  _ usually _ was able to act around him.

Startled, she stood up suddenly. “What are you doing here?”

Then she was able to remember the events of yesterday. Was that really only  _ yesterday? _ Still, she relaxed. “Oh, yeah. You spent the night, didn’t you? Sorry. I forgot.”

Adrien was Cat Noir.

He smiled at her. “No worries. Kinda a shocker, isn’t it? To see someone first thing in the morning when you aren’t expecting it?”

Cat Noir was Adrien.

Marinette nodded. “Yeah. Look at me. Still in my PJs.”

Could she freak out now? Or did she want to talk to him about it? Well, she couldn’t talk too much. She still had to keep her identity from him.

They laughed, then continued on their breakfast. They would have to talk later.

* * *

 

Marinette was acting a lot calmer around Adrien than usual. That was good. It was as though, knowing he was Cat Noir, she could talk to him like everyone else.

If he had known that earlier…

Well, if he had known that earlier, he probably wouldn’t have revealed his identity to her. Ladybug wouldn’t have liked that. But he would’ve been tempted. It now actually felt like they were friends.

Adrien didn’t  _ want _ to talk to anyone else at school. True, he had been having to hide the same issues the past week at school, but now that he knew that Marinette knew, he wanted to talk about it with her.

There was no time to talk before school. Adrien had waited until Marinette was ready, and due to her habit of being as close to late as possible, they had to head immediately to class.

Somehow, he managed to focus until lunch. But  _ that _ was when Adrien knew he absolutely  _ must _ talk to her.

As Marinette was packing up her stuff from the last class before lunch, he approached her. Which wasn’t hard at all. She  _ did _ sit right behind him, after all. “Hey, Marinette. Is it okay if I come over to your house for lunch?”

Marinette looked as though she wanted to freak out, but she answered calmly. “Of course, Adrien! I’d enjoy the company.”

Alya, standing next to her friend, looked back and forth between Adrien and Marinette, trying to figure out what was going on. Well, there was something going on in between them, but Adrien wasn’t about to divulge.

"That's great. Thanks." Adrien smiled at her, and she looked flustered for a moment, but brushed it off and started walking.

They walked in through the bakery, where Marinette's parents were both working. There was a bit of a rush since it was lunchtime, but Tom and Sabine stopped to greet their daughter. "Adrien and I are just going to eat lunch up in the house. We can take care of ourselves."

Once they got in the kitchen, Marinette started gathering supplies for lunch. Adrien sat down at the table. "Didn't you want your parents around?"

The girl shook her head. "I figured you want to talk to me. Why else would you ask if we could go to  _ my  _ house for lunch?"

"Bakery goodies?" Adrien suggested helpfully.

"We could've just grabbed them and gone back to school," Marinette pointed out. She was almost done making the… sandwiches? "So I  _ am _ probably right. Do you want to talk about Cat Noir?"

Adrien hesitated. How could she read him so well? She had limited interactions with him as Adrien  _ or _ as Cat Noir. "Why would I want to talk about that?"

She shrugged. "Not like you have anyone else to talk about it with. And we need to figure out where you can stay. I'm not sure my parents will believe any story we come up with for you to stay another night."

Adrien lifted his eyebrows. "I could just camp out on your balcony."

Marinette snickered. "Pretty sure that is considered animal abuse, kitty. Not to mention, you probably don't want to wait out the night in the cold."

"Well, then just let me in once you close your door for the night."

Adrien hadn't meant it to sound so weird, but Marinette's face burned up anyways. "No no no. I… couldn’t go behind my parents backs like that. We should just figure out some other place for you to stay.”

Adrien blew out a breath. “I dunno, Marinette… it seems to me that it’d be better  have Ladybug’s input. She trusted me to stay here, but somewhere else…”

Marinette bit her lip, as if unsure what she should do. “Actually, I-”

Suddenly a red flying thing came right in front of her face. “Marinette!” it shouted in a voice that sounded like a five-year-old girl.

Adrien stood up, alarmed. “What’s that?”

The thing turned around. It looked like Plagg, except that it was a hot pink, two antennas, black dots on its cheek and back, and blue eyes. “Are you… Ladybug’s kwami?” Adrien asked cautiously.

It didn’t answer, but Adrien knew he  _ had _ to be right. What was Ladybug’s kwami doing there? Why had it stopped Marinette from saying whatever it was that she was going to? Things almost seemed to make sense-

“I guess Ladybug sent it to check on you!” Marinette didn’t answer to fast, but the rate her words were coming out  _ definitely _ broke some sort of speed limit. After getting that out, she managed to talk more calmly. “I could probably give us Ladybug’s input on where you can stay tonight.”

Something was still missing. Adrien couldn’t figure it out. But it would wait while they ate lunch and talked.

* * *

 

Marinette and Adrien got back to school five minutes before lunch was over. Five minutes too soon. Alya immediately took her best friend by the arm and pulled her to a place they could talk without being heard.

“Girl, what is  _ up? _ ” Alya demanded. “First, you and Adrien get here at the same time,  _ right _ before the bell rings. Being late isn’t unusual for  _ you, _ but Adrien is never late. Then you both go have lunch at your house without inviting me and Nino? You better explain.”

Marinette had no immediate answer. She honestly hadn’t really considered about needing to tell Alya  _ something. _ Finally, she decided to go with what she and Adrien had decided to tell Nino when Adrien would ask if he could spend the night. “Relax, Alya. I’m just trying to help Adrien on something, and he gets too distracted at his own house. So he may have kinda… ran away for a couple of days.” Well, maybe Marinette had elaborated a little. But she hadn’t told a single lie.

Alya raised an eyebrow. “And this morning?”

“Working on it at my house before school.” Okay, that was a bit more than stretching the truth. They didn’t have a chance to talk before school.

“And since when did you work on projects with Adrien?”

“Uhh…” Marinette wondered which truthful answer was best. A year or… “Since yesterday.” Well, that  _ was _ when she had learned who her partner was.

Alya smiled, and put her arm around Marinette. “Look at you, girl! Able to talk to Adrien! Now we’ve just got to make him fall in love with you.”

Marinette smiled. _He already_ _is._ Of course, she was the only person in the world besides Tikki who knew that. But still, it was good to know that her crush _did_ love her. Ladybug her, but that was part of her, too.

The bell rang, and they went back to class.

* * *

 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Adrien heard the name said right before he exited the last class of the day. He turned around and saw Chloe talking to Marinette.

“What do you think you were doing, having lunch with  _ Adrien _ ?” Chloe pouted. “It’s not as though he likes  _ you. _ ”

“For the record, Chloe, Adrien was the one who asked me to have lunch with him,” Marinette said, standing up. She glared at Chloe. “Try not to be jealous.”

Adrien knew that Marinette usually tried to be a nice person, but Chloe brought out the worst in her. And considering how the girls treated each other, it was no wonder why.

Knowing that it could get ugly, Adrien stepped back into the classroom and intervened. “Chloe, Marinette was right. I  _ did _ ask her to have lunch with me. I am capable of choosing who I like. So maybe you should act nicer so that I can enjoy hanging out with you more.”

Not really thinking too much about what he was doing, Adrien grabbed Marinette’s wrist and pulled her out of the classroom. He walked as quickly as he could, and the shorter Marinette struggled to keep up. He finally stopped at the benches of the park near the school, where they sat down. It was only then that Adrien realized that maybe he should have finished up the conversation in a more distinguished manner, rather than leave it so abruptly. Marinette may not have even wanted to get pulled away like that.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I just wanted to get you out of Chloe’s grasp. I could tell you were upset.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Marinette panted. “But I could’ve dealt with her myself.”

Did she not like that he had interrupted? Did she think he had been insincere with what he had said. “I meant every word I said, Marinette. I don’t regret letting Chloe know. Sometimes, she needs to be reminded that the world doesn’t revolve around her. I really do like you, and she needed to know that.”

Marinette froze. “As in,  _ like _ like me?” She sounded… hopeful.

“Uhh…” Adrien shrugged. “Not that I couldn’t, but…”

She looked back down at her lap. “I know. Loving Ladybug is kinda your thing.”

Adrien was surprised by this. “You knew that?” He knew that as Cat Noir he was always flirting with her, but he didn’t think that anyone would be able to pick up that he  _ loved _ her just from coverage on the news or the Ladyblog.

Marinette looked nervous, and shrugged. “Yeah… It’s apparent. The way you look at her, flirt with her… anyone could tell that you like her. But the way you always are willing to sacrifice yourself so that she could finish up… Well, maybe that might seem like what is logical, because she can restore everything and purify the akuma. But when you do that, I can tell that you actually care, and consider the choice with your heart, not your brain. That’s love.”

Marinette looked up at him and smiled. That was profound. Her mini speech and that smile… Adrien was wondering if he had spoken too soon about not  _ like _ liking her.

If he had not been starting to like Marinette a little more, as more than a friend, Adrien might have wondered how she knew what it was like when Cat Noir was prepared to sacrifice himself for Ladybug. He might have wondered or pieced together that  _ she _ was Ladybug. Instead, he found himself wishing, hoping, ever so slightly, that she was Ladybug.

* * *

 

After the park, Marinette had gone back to her house, and Adrien had gone to Nino’s for the night. But when she got to school, earlier than usual, Chloe was there, waiting for her.

“What is it, Chloe?” Marinette asked, just avoiding a yawn.

Chloe  _ harrumphed, _ looking away arrogantly. Or maybe that head toss was just to show off her hair, which Marinette had to admit was  _ particularly  _ stylish today. “I was going to have a fight with you, but I couldn’t find you or Adrien yesterday. I talked to Jean, and he advised me to not do that. So, instead, I have question.”

Marinette suppressed another yawn. Honestly, who got up this early? “What is it?”

Chloe scowled. “What do you do that makes Adrien…” The blonde girl swallowed. “...like you?”

Marinette paused. Was  _ Chloe _ asking her for help? She knew that, since becoming Queen Bee on occasion, Chloe  _ had  _ improved her actions, though she was still far from perfect. But this… maybe they could  _ get along _ now. “Like… as a friend?”

Chloe nodded hesitantly. “I don’t really  _ like _ like him. I’m just… possessive. But I’ve been thinking lately… since I’m a superhero, I should try to act like it. Be a better friend. Try not to cause akumas.”

Marinette smiled. “With that attitude, you’re on your way to making Adrien like you more again. The key is, try being nice. It helps a lot to make people like you.”

* * *

 

Marinette was hanging out with  _ Chloe. _ Alya was in the group as well, and looked cautious. Sabrina was still being Chloe’s sycophant as usual, while Chloe and Marinette were laughing together. It was an unbelievable scenario.

“Dude, you okay?” Nino asked next to him. “You look like you’re staring a hole into those girls.”

Adrien forced himself to look away from the group. “I’m mostly fine, except the whole, you know…”

Nino grimaced. “Right. Your dad. Will you need to be staying over the weekend?”

“I… I’m not sure.” He would need to see if Marinette could find Ladybug’s kwami again, so they could figure that out. He couldn’t very well stay away from home indefinitely, so they would probably need to figure out something to fight Mayura soon.

Alya had apparently calmed down enough in the presence of Chloe to tune out and look around on her phone. Suddenly, she tapped her best friend’s shoulder franticall. “Marinette, look!”

Marinette stopped talking to Chloe and complied, and Chloe looked over her shoulder to see what it was as well. It only took approximately two seconds for them to look up, straight at Adrien.

Startled, Adrien simply waved shyly.

Getting up, Marinette grabbed Alya’s phone and started to march over to Adrien. Alya tried to follow, but Marinette waved her off, though not Chloe when she did the same. She grabbed Adrien’s wrist and the three of them went to a quiet corner of the courtyard.

Finally, there, Marinette showed him what was on the phone. “Look.”

He did. There was some sort of tabloid article up, with a picture of him and Marinette from sitting on the park benches yesterday at the top. The picture was of when Marinette was smiling at him, and he was blushing and smiling like a fool at her. Strange. He didn’t remember blushing  _ or _ smiling back at her yesterday. Then he saw the title. It read “Protege Agreste Model has a Girlfriend? Potentially Scandalous Relationship?”

Adrien frowned. “What? Why would anyone say this?”

Marinette scowled. “Probably whoever wrote this saw you coming out of my house yesterday morning. That certainly leaves room for such assumptions.”

“How utterly  _ ridiculous! _ ” Chloe fumed.

Just then, Alya caught up to them. “I would like my phone, thank you very much.”

“Oh!” Marinette exclaimed, handing the phone back. “Sorry. I just…”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” She took her phone, and scrolled to the bottom of the article. “But we shouldn’t leave it like this.” Alya started a comment, writing as she spoke, getting increasingly angrier and angrier. “I can’t believe the things in these tabloids. They shouldn’t be allowed to-”

Suddenly, her phone screen, which they all had been hovering around, went dark purple.

“What. Happened?” Alya said. She tried tapping the screen, turning off her phone, and even desperately shaking it. Nothing made it go away.

“Uhh…” Marinette considered. “Maybe you can try taking it to a  phone shop?”

Then, as equally surprising as the screen turning purple, black started creeping across it, almost like-

“Cataclysm…” Adrien said under his breath.

Marinette noticed, and looked up at him, but since neither of the other two girls paid attention, she said nothing, only giving a frown.

As if in confirmation, the screen became completely encompassed in black, and a symbol exactly like that of Cat Noir’s ring appeared.

Alya, of course, freaked out. “What’s this supposed to be?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “It’s Cat Noir’s ring, dummy.” So she still  _ was _ Chloe after all.

They started arguing as the answer to Alya’s verbal, and Adrien (and probably Marinette’s) mental question was answered, appearing on the screen beneath the symbol.

CATCHA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda HAD to write this chapter. It’s not like Marinette and Adrien are just doing NOTHING while Plagg is out getting himself into a lot of trouble.  
> I meant to cover more in this chapter, but I didn’t expect it to be so long and the plot ended up taking a bit of a different turn than I expected. So we’ll get to that part next chapter. At least, with all the ground covered in this chapter, I’m set to cover everything I planned the final two chapters of this part.  
> If you have any suggestions to change the plot for this chapter, I would appreciate it very much. There are some things I’m not too sure if they’re particularly realistic, but I can’t decide one way or another, and I don’t have anyone irl to beta read it, so any help is appreciated!


	7. Curiousity Killed the Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contact

They couldn’t get to Marinette’s desktop fast enough after school. Sure, it would have been quicker to just look it up on their phones, but they wanted the privacy to talk that they would have in her room.

Offering a quick explanation to Marinette’s parents that Adrien was  _ just _ there to hang out, they went up into her room, closed the trap door, and turned on the computer.

Marinette sighed in frustration. “I should’ve kept it on from this morning. Now we have to wait for it to load.”

Adrien chuckled at that. “You know, this is fine, Marinette. I’ve been thinking. If Ladybug’s kwami can come as well, we should start a plan.”

“What would we be planning then?”

“How Ladybug and I can defeat Mayura.”

The trapdoor flew open. “Why would you two be planning that?” Chloe asked as she poked her head in.

Chloe. In Marinette’s room. Admittedly, not a sight she’d ever expected to see. Even with them, well… she wouldn’t call them friends, but at least they were at a cease fire. But especially since that had happened only this morning… “What are you doing here, Chloe?”

Chloe held up Marinette’s school bag. “You left in such a rush that you forgot your bag. How pathetic. And  _ Alya _ was too busy trying to figure out who this CAT-a-what-its-name is, so she didn’t notice. In my efforts to start being nice, I brought it over here. I  _ walked. _ You  _ better _ appreciate it.”

Climbing completely up into the room, Chloe handed Marinette the pink bag. “Anyhow, why  _ were _ you two planning how the superheroes can defeat Mayura?” She looked bored for a minute before her eyes widened. “Wait.  _ You two _ are Ladybug and Cat Noir, aren’t you?”

_ That’s right, _ Marinette thought, somewhat surprised that Chloe had figured it out.  _ But I can only give it half away. Mayura doesn’t know  _ my _ identity yet. _

Adrien spoke up first. “You caught me!” Then a smirk slowly snuck onto his face. What was that cat thinking of now? “I’m Ladybug.”

Chloe’s jaw absolutely dropped. “ _ What? _ ”

Marinette rolled her eyes and put a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “Chloe, he’s just being a tease. He’s Cat Noir.”

“Oh.” She looked considerably calmer. Then she narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusatory finger at Marinette. “And Ladybug’s-”

“Kwami is here!” Marinette finished.

She didn’t want to let Chloe finish the sentence, in case that was what finally allowed Adrien to put her identity together. It probably wouldn’t be too bad, but it was still necessary. She had been a bit  _ too  _ careless around him.

They were both startled by that. “Tikki’s here?” Adrien asked.

Marinette nodded nervously, wishing she had had time to think this through a bit longer. “Saw her fly in. Now we can have her input on  _ CATCHA  _ and what to do about Mayura.”

Obligingly, Tikki flew out of hiding. The other two heroes of Paris were unfazed with the appearance of a kwami, used to the presence of Plagg and Pollen. The ladybug kwami gave her a concerned look before turning to Chloe and Adrien. “Nice to meet you, Chloe. And hello again, Adrien. I know you’re worried about Mayura, but first we need to deal with the problem itself. And find out who CATCHA is.”

They all turned to Marinette’s desktop, which was now turned on. She quickly logged in, pulled up the internet and searched, “CATCHA.”

Only some speculative blogs and forums came up. Looking for any clue, they went through each one. No luck.

“Maybe if you want to find anything, you need to refine your search,” Chloe suggested.

“And how would we do  _ that?” _ Marinette asked. “What do  _ you _ suggest typing in?”

Chloe shrugged. “If you want to know about its connection to Cat Noir, type that in with the search results.” By that point, they had caught her up on Cat Noir’s situation.

That… that might actually work. “Sure. Why not?” She added “Cat Noir” to the end of the search.

Nothing came up.

Marinette leaned back in her chair, sighing in frustration.

Then, the screen glitched, turning black. Green letters started to appear, like on a retro computer screen of an era long before the internet.

C: This is CATCHA. May I know who’s asking?

Marinette looked at Adrien, and moved out from in front of the desktop. “All yours, Adrien. This is your conversation.”

Adrien took the seat she offered, and considered for a minute before typing. 

A: The real Cat Noir.

It instantly replied. 

C: Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

Chloe snickered. “Imagine  _ Marinette _ being Cat Noir! How  _ ridiculous! _ ”

Marinette sighed. “Only as ridiculous as Adrien being Ladybug.”

That got her to shut up. She must’ve actually believed it. Chloe turned her attention back to the computer. “It probably tracked the IP address. Must be nice to do things that easily as a computer.”

Adrien turned around. “Do you mean that  _ you’ve _ done that yourself, Chloe?”

She looked away but didn’t deny it.

Adrien turned back and started typing a response to CATCHA. 

A: No. Just a friend.

It didn’t respond immediately like the past two times. “It’s probably waiting to know why we were looking for it,” Marinette suggested.

“Huh…” Adrien seemed hesitant. “What should we say? ‘Who are you’? ‘Why are you here’? ‘Do you have my miraculous’?”

It was Tikki who responded. “We should ask if it has the black cat miraculous. But, afterwords, we need to see if we can work together with it to stop whatever this is that is happening online right now.”

Adrien turned around and started rapid fire communication with CATCHA, only pausing briefly to ask Tikki for advice.

A: Who are you and what are you doing?

C: CATCHA, the new holder of the black cat miraculous. I am working to defeat the attack Mayura is making on the internet.

A: How do you know it is Mayura?

C: The reaction is similar to the two instances I know of Mayura directly attacking in physical form.

A: Are you able to track down the location of the attack?

C: Yes.

Adrien looked at Tikki. “Can Ladybug do anything to dispel Mayura? I ultimately had to Cataclysm the object that was infected to make the beast disappear. But maybe Ladybug’s yoyo could somehow deevilize it similar to the way it did for akumas?”

“If she can get it inside the yoyo, yes. However, I’m sure if it will be a size that can fit, or if there’s a way to get it small enough. I have no experience fighting these.”

“But we  _ can _ fight it, yes?” Adrien clarified.

Tikki nodded.

Adrien turned back to the computer.

A: Send the address.

*

Adrien was waiting outside while Ladybug and Queen Bee fought the villain. Or more, substitute villain. 

He was worried. Why  _ shouldn’t _ he be? They had no idea if this would work, there were a thousand ways it could go wrong, there-

His worries were cut off by Ladybug and Queen Bee walked out of the building safely.

“Ladybug! Thank goodness you’re safe!” he said, rushing over to her.

She laughed.  “It was actually much easier than most of the akuma’s we’ve fought. I’m glad that we had the help of CATCHA.”

Adrien smiled. It was nice to know that they had a New Ally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there is a huge time gap there. But the relevant part of the story is this: they stopped Mayura. And CATCHA/Markov helped.  
> I plan on filling it in with a later fic that is going to be solely Chloe's point of view. It will include more than this, but I've already written part of it, and BOY am I having a load of fun with her perspective.  
> Also, Chloe is apparently a lot cooler than she seems. This will help fill in the story gaps that aren't really story gaps.


	8. [ERROR] Blue Screen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> Just read it.

Once the villain was defeated, Markov detransformed. The only outward sign of him being CATCHA now was in the ring around his propeller, the only place they could make it fit.

“Great,” Plagg started off by complaining. He knew if he didn’t say anything  _ now _ , he might not have a chance once the robot started talking. “You got to be a superhero for nearly twenty-four hours. Now where’s my camembert?”

Markov didn’t answer.

Plagg turned around to make sure it was okay. “Markov?”

“I was foolish for thinking that I could successfully be an effective superhero on my own. If it weren’t for Ladybug and Queen Bee, that could have been going on indefinitely.”

Great. It was having a crisis of confidence. Now he had to give a whole speech that was cheesy in the entirely  _ wrong _ kind of way. “Being a miraculous holder isn’t about individual capability. It’s about teamwork, which-”

“I was useless. Ineffective.” It muttered.

Plagg wondered if Tikki had felt this frustrated when Ladybug had tried to quit early on. “No, you led them to the right place, and-”

“I could do much better serving Hawkmoth.” Markov looked up as it whispered the sentence.

It-

Plagg finally knew the word he had been looking for to describe that action. It wasn’t the blinking that was impactful. It was its expression right afterwards. The robot’s eyes were on a screen, but that didn’t make them any less expressive. They showed lust and power. Absolute, maniacal power and obsession.

Markov’s eyes  _ bore. _

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know… it just happened. Don’t be mad at me, PLEASE.  
> (Yay for cliffhangers!)  
> Actually, when I first considered the idea of creating CATCHA, I wanted it to be a villain. But then things didn’t work out, like getting Plagg to agree and so on. But then… well, you read the story. So you already know.  
> I’ll try getting the next work started soon. Depending on when I actually post this, it could be out almost immediately. But it definitely should be a shorter wait than last time. So don’t give up on this story yet.  
> Who knows, I think I might actually be able to wrap things up this next work.

**Author's Note:**

> If the picture of the passcode for the buttons doesn’t show up, it doesn’t matter much. If you really care, go here: https://imgur.com/a/vSXpT4F . As for how Plagg knew about it, I guess he saw when Master Fu took his and Tikki’s miraculouses’ out? I don’t know, just please don’t focus too much on that, unless you can figure out a more reasonable way for Plagg to get his miraculous.  
> This part of the fanfic is resulting directly because I wanted to write a point of view for Plagg. And I knew I shouldn’t write anything that was unrelated to the story, and was straight out of ideas for what to do with Adrien and Marinette(besides fluff), so I figured something out. So you’ll see a whole lot more of Plagg. Anyhow, this also makes this story way more complicated, and I’ll be as surprised to what comes out of it as you.


End file.
